Juliette Kaplan
Marlene Juliette Kaplan, known as Juliette Kaplan (2 October 1939 – 10 October 2019) was a British actress most famous for playing the role of battle-axe Pearl Sibshaw in the BBC comedy Last of the Summer Wine, from 1985 to 2010. Early life Born in Bournemouth to Jewish parents who split up when she was little, Kaplan was taken to her father's native South Africa when she was six months old. She went to a Jewish government school in Johannesburg then to a convent in Pretoria before spending a year in New York when she was 11. Because of Kaplan's Brooklyn accent mixed with a strong South African accent, her mother sent her to drama school in Bournemouth to polish up her voice, paying her way by working as a chambermaid, sales girl and telephone operator. There, in 1957, she appeared in her first stage role, Waters of the Moon ''in Margate. Always the friendly sort, Kaplan soon made friends with Margate's Jewish community, where all the mothers with unmarried sons asked her to come for dinner - one of which succeeded. His name was Harold Hoser, and the two married soon after. Career After numerous stage roles, 1958 brought Kaplan her first feature film role, as Salome in ''A Voice Crying in the Wilderness, ''the story of John the Baptist told by an amateur cast in a Dorset village. Kaplan's husband owned a chain of gift shops along the south coast of England, which Kaplan had to run after his untimely death in 1981 aged 54. Kaplan struggled to work on stage and manage the shops, where she would work in one of the shops during the day and perform on stage on the night. This eventually became too much for her so she sold the shops. In 1985, Kaplan appeared as new character Pearl Sibshaw in a stage play named ''Last of the Summer Wine, ''opposite her husband Howard (Robert Fyfe) and is girlfriend Marina (Jean Fergusson). The three new characters were so popular with audiences that writer Roy Clarke wrote them into the TV series. Kaplan's first series of ''Last of the Summer Wine would air later the same year. Due to being so popular and recognisable as Pearl on television, other screen appearances came about including London's Burning, Brookside, EastEnders and Doctors. After Last of the Summer Wine ended in 2010, Kaplan appeared on stage as Pearl in her own spin off from the show showing what happened to Pearl when she was younger and how she met Howard. In 2014, Kaplan appeared in the Boots Christmas Advert. In 2015, Kaplan joined the cast of Coronation Street as Agnes Tinker for eight episodes. Personal life and death In July 2019, Kaplan's agent announced on Twitter that she was 'gravely ill' and in a hospice. She died on 10 October 2019, just days after her 80th birthday, of which her agent shared a picture of her on her final birthday. Kaplan had 3 children and resided in Canterbury, Kent. Filmography Film roles Television roles Stage roles